Auto-Evaluation Report by Iceland on the Implementation of the Anti-Doping Convention of the Council of Europe Which Was Entered
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Strasbourg, 10 November 2005 T-DO (2005) 39 Anti-Doping Convention (T-DO) Compliance with Commitments Auto-Evaluation Report by Iceland on the Implementation of the Anti-Doping Convention of the Council of Europe which was entered into force in March 1990 1. Introduction Iceland signed the Anti-Doping Convention of the Council of Europe on March 25 th 1991 without reservation regarding ratification. The Convention came into force in Iceland on May 1st of the same year. On 30 th March 2004, Iceland signed the Additional Protocol to the Convention, which came into force on 1. July 2004. The intention with the preparation of this report is to collate in one document information on all aspects of the implementation of the Convention (articles 1-9) in Iceland. For clarity, the structure of the report follows the article structure of the Convention. In addition, the report contains some basic information on the organization of sport in Iceland. 2. Sport in Iceland The Icelandic Government strives to create an environment that stimulates and supports a free and independent sports movement, accessible to the whole population All sports organizations in Iceland are democratic and voluntary non-profit organizations. The overwhelming majority of organized sport in Iceland is united in the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland (in Icelandic: Ithrotta- og Olympiusamband Islands; ISI ), which serves a double role as both a confederation of sports and as the National Olympic Committee of Iceland. ISI is recognized in national law as the supreme body of sports in Iceland. T-DO (2005) 39 2 ISI is the association of 25 sports federations and 27 district federations, which in turn are made up from about 430 sports clubs. The total membership of ISI is around 150.000 individual members. A general assembly is held every 2 years, where the laws and regulations of ISI are made and amended. All laws and regulations of ISI, including those governing the anti-doping activities of the organization, also apply to all member federations, associated clubs and individual members. The anti- doping activities of ISI are the responsibilities of two committees; the Anti-Doping Committee and the Doping Control Committee. The member federations of ISI do not conduct anti-doping activities of their own, but have an obligation to abide by the ISI anti-doping laws and assist the anti-doping activities of ISI in any way. Those sport organizations that are not affiliated with ISI are obviously not governed by the laws of ISI, with regard to anti-doping or otherwise. No comprehensive overview exists as to whether sports organizations not affiliated with ISI have anti-doping regulations of their own or whether they are bound by anti-doping regulations of international organizations that they are affiliated with. 3. Fulfilment of the Convention Article 1 – Aim of the Convention By signing the European Anti Doping Convention in 1991, the Icelandic Government formally accepted the responsibility to co-ordinate policies and actions concerned with the fight against doping in sports in Iceland. In 1993, the Government signed an agreement with ISI, whereby the conducting of doping control within sports in Iceland was delegated to ISI and the Government provided annual funding to ISI to cover the costs of these activities. In the last few years, this funding has been gradually increasing (see table). An additional allocation was provided in 1999 to cover the costs of an informational and educational campaign. Year Allocation 1996 ISK 500.000 1997 ISK 500.000 1998 ISK 500.000 1999 ISK 6.000.000 (special additional allocation) 2000 ISK 1.000.000 2001 ISK 1.000.000 2002 ISK 1.000.000 2003 ISK 1.500.000 2004 ISK 5.000.000 2005 ISK 7.000.000 In addition to the annual contributions to fund the anti-doping activities of ISI, the Government has paid annual contributions to WADA since it was founded. As a consequence of the abovementioned agreement between the Government and ISI, the Doping Control Committee of ISI has since 1993 fulfilled the function of a national anti- doping organisation. However, the anti-doping activities of ISI are solely concerned with the sports organized within ISI and there are currently no anti-doping activities directed at sports outside the organization of ISI. Article 2 – Definition and scope of the Convention By signing the European Anti-Doping Convention, the Icelandic Government expressed agreement with the definition of doping as set out in the Convention. The Government also 3 T-DO (2005) 39 takes due notice of the list of banned substances and methods as approved by the Monitoring Group each year. ISI has incorporated the WADA definition of doping and the WADA recommended sanctions into its laws and refers exclusively to the WADA list of banned substances and methods in its anti-doping activities. ISI makes the WADA list publicly available upon each revision. Article 3 – Domestic co-ordination At present, no defined anti-doping policy has been laid down in Icelandic law. The Sport Act (1991:64) does not include any reference to the doping problem or anti-doping activities and no law specifically addressing the doping problem and ways to fight this has been passed by the Parliament. A number of other laws and regulations touch upon this subject from various angles (see below), but a comprehensive Governmental policy and framework for national anti-doping activities has not been established. As described above, the implementation of doping controls within Icelandic sports has been delegated to ISI as the supreme body of sport in Iceland. Article 4 – Measures to restrict the availability and use of banned doping agents and methods National laws and regulations that restrict the availability of doping agents Although no law specifically addressing the problem of doping in sport and ways to fight this has been passed in Iceland, the availability and use of doping agents in the society is restricted through other laws relating to the trafficking of drugs in general, which may be applied in matters arising in this context. The relevant laws and regulations are listed below, with an indication of the drugs they refer to and the sanctions they prescribe. The act on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (1974:65) The act prohibits and restricts the trafficking of certain narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances on Icelandic territory. Sanctions for offences against the act may range from financial penalties to 6 years imprisonment. The list of substances controlled by this act is determined by reference to lists associated with the Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), to which the Icelandic Government is a signatory part. Some of the drugs listed there are also prohibited in sports. Any changes of the lists are subsequently ratified for Iceland by Governmental regulations. The criminal act (1940:19) The act, article , paragraph 2, prescribes a sanction of up to 10 years imprisonment for extensive trafficking of substances controlled by the act on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The pharmaceutical act (1994:93) The act limits production, importation and sale of registered drugs to pharmacists or otherwise qualified agents, holding an official license. Sanctions for offences against the act are largely confined to financial penalties, although extensive offences may be punished with up to 2 years imprisonment. Regulations on the import of drugs for personal use (1998:212) These regulations limit the amount of drugs that travellers may bring along for personal use when entering Icelandic territory. Regarding drugs regulated by the Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (see above), this amount is limited to either 10 or 30 days personal consumption, depending on the nature of the drug. Further, the regulations specifically state that regarding anabolic androgenic steroids and T-DO (2005) 39 4 peptide/glycoprotein hormones and analogues, this amount is limited to 30 days personal consumption. All import of drugs for personal use must be justified by appropriate medical documentation, if requested. Sanctions for offences against these regulations are the same as for offences against the pharmaceutical act (see above). In summary, sanctions for offences relating to the trafficking of doping substances in Iceland are at present relatively mild and for the most part only indirectly defined in Icelandic legislation. ISI anti-doping regulations In 2004, all essential articles of the WADA World Anti-Doping Code, including articles concerned with the definition of doping, sanctions and disciplinary procedures, were incorporated into the laws of ISI. As already mentioned, all the member federations of ISI are bound by the laws of ISI. Consequently, it can be concluded that the anti-doping laws and regulations of ISI and all its member federations have been brought into accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code. Article 5 – Laboratories Iceland does not have a laboratory for the analysis of doping control samples. All samples from doping control carried out by the Doping Control Committee of the ISI are analysed at the WADA-accredited Doping Laboratory at Huddinge University Hospital in Sweden, in accordance with an agreement between ISI and the laboratory. Article 6 – Education In the 1993 agreement between the Government and ISI (see above), the conducting of doping control in Icelandic sports was delegated to ISI, while other aspects of the anti-doping work, such as information and education, were not mentioned. However, ISI has for many years produced informational and educational material of its own and made this available to member federations and in some instances, the general public. ISI has produced educational handbooks, leaflets and posters, covering among other topics the laws and regulations of ISI regarding doping, the main categories of banned substances and the conducting of doping controls.